Chapter 14
** Charcoal Kiln**
**[Name: Cliff Elimeas]**
**[Level: 2]**
**[Authority: 3]**
**[Grace: 1]**
**[Virtue: 1]**
The stat Cliff had raised was Authority.
The sense of pressure Theobald had felt was precisely because of this.
But for now, neither Cliff nor Theobald knew that. Still, there was a reason Cliff had raised it.
‘I’ve organized the soldiers to some extent, but I still lack authority as a lord.’
What a shame.
If his mana had been abundant, he would have used a different method.
Still, it was fortunate. An unexpected reward had come his way.
A Slave Knight.
Someone who could handle mana – such skills were rare.
They couldn’t be taught to just anyone.
Usually, they were passed down only within bloodlines, and occasionally, skills were taught to slaves like this.
‘Because a slave cannot betray.’
To be precise, betrayal was impossible.
Naturally, the value of such a Slave Knight was high. Moreover, even if you had money, it was difficult to buy one.
The very fact that someone like Beluman possessed such a person was nonsense.
“……It seems the master-servant contract is properly established. But how did Beluman come to acquire you? No matter how many people he trafficked in this territory, it would be difficult to obtain a knight like you.”
Slave Knights were rare.
Not just in the sense of being expensive, but their very numbers were few.
Yet, there were many places that wanted them. Beings who possessed the skills of a knight but didn’t require a separate salary.
Just thinking about it, weren’t they a fantastic military asset?
‘It makes no sense for Beluman to have obtained such a person.’
At that level, Beluman’s existence was beyond the scale of this small territory.
“I was with a different organization before.”
At Theobald’s answer, Cliff’s eyes sparkled with interest.
A different organization.
It must have been a place powerful enough to possess Theobald.
“Did they hand you over to Beluman?”
“To be precise, it was an exchange.”
“An exchange?”
Theobald had a trading partner.
An exchange meant a transaction had taken place. A mere loan shark from a backwater territory had connections with a surprisingly large organization.
And as for what was exchanged…
“There are Shadow Wolves in this area, which means there are also other Shadowkin. He was lucky enough to have captured a young one of those Shadowkin.”
“Shadowkin?”
At first, confusion.
Then, soon, Cliff’s expression hardened.
Another Shadowkin, not a Shadow Wolf. And a value worthy of being exchanged for someone like Theobald.
Something came to mind.
“Surely… you don’t mean a Dark Elf?”
If normal Elves used spirit magic and bows.
Dark Elves used shadows and daggers as their main weapons.
A rare race, even fewer in number than Elves, and difficult to encounter.
‘Certainly… no matter how rare a Slave Knight is, they can’t compare to a Dark Elf.’
At his surprised question, Theobald nodded.
Hearing that, he understood.
‘So this is a place where Dark Elves live.’
The mountains surrounding the territory and the woodlands beyond.
The place where the Dark Elves lived was likely that woodland. There was a Dark Elf village there.
“Have you ever seen a Dark Elf while living in that lodge?”
“I have. However, if you intend to capture and sell them like Beluman did, I would advise against it.”
Cliff frowned at Theobald’s words.
“Are you crazy? I’d rather hunt the lake’s dragon than try to capture those bastards.”
Theobald had clearly said it before.
Beluman had captured a young Dark Elf. That was only possible because the Dark Elf was a child.
‘You shouldn’t even think about fighting an adult Dark Elf.’
They were natural-born assassins.
If you encountered them in the forest, it was safe to consider yourself dead.
Furthermore, the Dark Elves had already lost a child once. Surely, they would be more cautious now.
To prevent children from leaving the village carelessly. So what Theobald meant by ‘encountered’ now was…
‘He met an adult, and a sentinel at that. More than that, how impressive. To think he survived meeting a sentinel.’
Even better.
“Then what is in the lodge?”
“Underground, there is a prison to temporarily hold those who are to become slaves. Aside from that, there is enough wheat brought from outside to fill two rooms.”
The corners of Cliff’s mouth turned up.
“……That is welcome news indeed.”
—
* * *
Winter is slowly approaching.
Cliff frowned.
‘Wasn’t this region supposed to be warm?’
There wasn’t a single good thing about this territory.
Hot in summer, cold in winter.
All the worst conditions were gathered here.
So winter was a season of death for the people of the territory.
“How are the winter preparations coming along?”
“Everyone is preparing firewood, food, and clothing. But there is a limit to what individual homes can prepare. The most realistic method is for them to huddle together in small spaces, sharing body heat to endure the winter.”
“Hah?”
Actually, this was a method even nobles enjoyed.
Human heaters.
They would sleep holding a woman who had bathed in hot water to keep warm. But besides that, they also prepared plenty of warm winter supplies like quilts and furs. However, there was a problem.
“Such things are rare here, aren’t they?”
“Yes. The only animals nearby are Shadow Wolves, and they…”
“Don’t leave their hides. I swear I will someday skin those mutts.”
With an impossible resolve, Cliff clicked his tongue.
The only hope was the 50 geese Tom had brought, as requested.
But still, only 50.
The breeding season had already passed, so their numbers hadn’t increased; rather, they had decreased.
‘If only there had been more time.’
Now, the territory had 48 geese.
Other than that, there was no other livestock raised in the territory.
Those geese had molted recently, and a fair amount of feathers had been collected, but still not enough to distribute to the people.
‘I need more geese. And besides geese, we need other livestock that can be raised in the territory.’
This was something he had been thinking about for a while.
But there was something even sadder than this.
“Above all, the trees that grow here produce toxic smoke when used as firewood. Accidents due to poisoning from that smoke occur frequently.”
The lack of firewood itself.
“Huh? I haven’t noticed anything like that.”
“That would be because you use Blackwood in the lord’s residence.”
“Blackwood?”
Cliff asked back.
“It is firewood made by processing wood once. It produces little smoke and retains heat longer, making it useful as firewood. After processing, it turns black, hence the name Blackwood.”
He thought he understood what Blackwood was.
‘Isn’t that just charcoal?’
In truth, Cliff had always lived as a noble since coming here.
He never had to directly check the firewood, so even when he heard reports, he paid less attention. Because he couldn’t relate to it. But hearing that all of this was because they used charcoal in the residence…
“Then can’t the people also use Blackwood… I mean, that charcoal?”
“That is true, but…”
Nigel trailed off.
“The production of Blackwood is not high. Therefore, the previous lord enacted a law allowing only those with the lord’s permission to use Blackwood.”
Hearing that, Cliff realized the inefficiency of this era.
‘That’s right. This is a world of social status.’
And the lord’s word was the law.
Here, Blackwood (charcoal) was under the lord’s special control. So only the lord could use it, and only those permitted by the lord.
‘In other words, I could have sold this right to obtain various things.’
For example, someone like Beluman probably used charcoal.
But that meant its use was restricted for commoners.
“Tch.”
Cliff clicked his tongue.
And a previous lord’s decree like this was difficult for even a later lord to overturn arbitrarily.
Still, it was fortunate.
‘At least it means there’s a loophole.’
Cliff opened his mouth.
“I give permission. As Acting Lord, I hereby permit all people living in our territory to produce and use Blackwood.”
“……!”
Nigel’s pupils dilated.
He looked almost moved.
However, he was also worried.
“There is a limit to the production of Blackwood, after all.”
“Do you use kilns?”
“Kilns… you say?”
He tilted his head.
Cliff clicked his tongue.
“I’m asking because I don’t remember seeing any while looking around the territory. There are no charcoal kilns here.”
“That is correct, but as for what that is…”
In truth, even Cliff didn’t know the details.
But that was fine.
This territory already had the experience, knowledge, and skill to make charcoal.
‘If I explain the kiln roughly, they’ll know how to do it.’
In Cliff’s understanding, charcoal was made in kilns.
But even without kilns, it was possible to make charcoal by covering wood with dirt in a more primitive method.
It just had a high failure rate and low production.
“Let’s try it out first. Call Anton and Ben.”
Those two were skilled craftsmen he had selected early on.
Cliff had them build a kiln.
There was plenty of clay in the territory, after all. They used it to build walls and create a kiln with a small chimney.
They put wood inside and sealed it.
They kept a small fire burning so it wouldn’t go out, while controlling the oxygen, and began charcoal production.
‘I hope this at least succeeds…’
The charcoal kiln they had built was just one prototype.
Making charcoal took a long time, or a short time, relatively speaking.
Above all, he was worried whether the kiln was built well. Watching the kiln, Cliff’s eyes lit up.
‘Blue smoke!’
Normally, when you burn wood, white or whitish smoke comes out.
The color of the smoke had turned blue.
This meant the charcoal production was a success.
“It worked!”
Cliff raised his arms and continued cheering.
And at the moment he produced charcoal like this, something unexpected happened.
—
**- The [Environment] category level has increased.**
—
The category level rose even though he hadn’t done anything else.
—
**- Territory experience increases by 100.**
**- Territory level has increased.**
—
And then, territory experience accumulated as well.
It was only then he realized.
That even without quests, he could raise his territory level.
‘I was just lamenting the lack of quests!’
—
**- A new quest has been generated.**
